JAI #594 - Just Add Masking

Welcome! Are you ready for another challenge? At Just Add Ink this week we're asking you to

There are so many ways to use this versatile technique and we can't wait to see what you come up with. 

My project is one of those where you get the germ of an idea and it stays in your mind, persistent and inexorable, until finally, for the sake of your sanity, you just have to sit down and try it, lol. I'm sure I'm not alone in this, right? Right?

Here's my monochromatic landscape.

I used bought stencils/masks for the hills and moon but made my own for the trees by cutting a die from some stencil film.

Materials used:

• stamps - Tiny Text (Tim Holtz)
• card - very vanilla
• distress oxide ink - frayed burlap
• stencils/masks - drifts & hills stencils (regular and slimline) by MFT; moon mask by Tim Holtz
• other - blending tool, Treeline die (Tim Holtz), stencil film, picket fence distress paint, paintbrush, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot Switch, masking tape, craft foam

I do hope you'll visit the Just Add Ink blog to check out the samples my fellow team mates have made for you, and hopefully be inspired to have a go yourself. 

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Hello, Hi, Hey

Hello, hi, hey, how's it going? If you're in lockdown too - I feel for you. If not - good on you, stay safe.

Meanwhile, it's time for another challenge over at Just Add Ink and it's one more I couldn't resist. 

So after my allowed one visit per day to the shops, I sat me down to make a card:

(not a terribly great photo, sorry - weather not conducive today)

I coloured the birds to resemble crimson rosellas, a type of native parrot who visit my backyard quite regularly. 

This card had a few different parts to it - cutting the frames (they're doubled up for extra depth), sponging the clouds (so easy with a stencil and oxide ink), colouring the birds and branches (Copic markers) and then embossing the greetings. I listen to my favourite music playlist while I work - and, admittedly, usually sing along too. Am I alone in that? Come on, admit it! Yeah, I didn't think so 😉.

Materials used:

• stamps - Some Birdie Loves You (Clearly Besotted)
• card - basic white, basic black
• other - Big Shot, Copic markers, mini cloud stencil (MFT),  decor frames die (Tim Holtz/Sizzix), blending brush, white embossing powder, heat tool, Dimensionals, clear sequins, mini glue dots, tumbled glass distress oxide ink

Hope you're enjoying some creative time too. Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

There Be Dragons

The opportunity to 'just add magical creatures' for the current JAI challenge was too good to pass up, so I made a soft baby card using the adorable Magical Dragons from My Favorite Things.

Materials used:

• stamps - Magical Dragons (MFT), Short and Sweet (retired SU)
• card - whisper white
• other - stitched circle die, Big Shot, balloon duet punch, word window punch, Magical Dragons die, mini cloud stencil (MFT), white baker's twine, Dimensionals, mounting tape, Copic markers

I love these sweet and charming stamps, it was so nice to have a reason to drag(on) them out again - pun intended! Lol. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Garden Arch

For our next class we'll be making a couple of fancy fold cards, the first of which is this simple diorama card featuring the gorgeous arched gate die from the mini catalogue. When I first saw the preview of this catalogue, this was the stamp set and die bundle that appealed to me the most and I knew it would be 'first cab off the rank' when I ordered!

It folds flat into regular C6 size for postage, which is always handy.

Materials used:

• stamps - Grace's Garden, This Little Piggy
• card - whisper white thick
• other - Garden Gateway dies, Big Shot, Stampin' Blends, glue, blending brush, Stamparatus, mini cloud stencil (MFT)

Once I've finished making our other 3D project, I'll be back, and to keep you going there'll be a new CAS challenge tomorrow night. Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Happy Australia Day

If you stretch your mind back twelve months you may remember my last Australia Day card, which featured the Aussie flag and a cute little gnome. A gnome convention is held nearby every year and as luck - and crafty fate - would have it, just yesterday I borrowed from my bestie a number of dies including ones for constructing a gnome house! I thought it was perfect for my Aussie Day card this year. Here tis:

I sponged the clouds on to white then ran that piece through the printer to get the sentiment (as I don't have a stamp that says this). Isn't the wee house adorable? There are a number of other dies in the set too but I decided to stop here! I would have added in a gnome but the proportions don't match the house AT ALL and I'm too anal to do it, lol.

Materials used:

• card - whisper white, real red, night of navy, granny apple green, very vanilla
• other - mini cloud stencil (MFT), blending brushes, gnome house dies, Big Shot, grass hill die, mounting tape, craft foam, tweezers, glue

If you're in Aussie, throw another prawn on the barbie for me and save me a slice of pav!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Oops I Did It Again

Some new goodies arrived in the mail yesterday which I had no trouble sitting down to play with almost immediately *wink*. Once I'd trialled a couple, I thought 'hey, this would look good in the corner for that one layer, off-centre challenge' ... and so here is entry #2 for the Simply Less is More challenge that I mentioned in my last post.

Materials used:

• stamps - You Matter (SSS)
• card - whisper white (SU)
• other - Altenew layering stencils dahlia, blending brushes, Stamparatus, clear embossing powder, heat tool, epoxy dots

I'm looking forward to trying these stencils out with other colours too.

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Just Hello

When a card comes together just as you imagined...

So, the good folks at CAS on Friday are looking for new design team members and I decided to throw my hat in the ring, as it were. The instructions were simply to create a CAS card - no boundaries, guidelines or parameters, which, of course, made it all the more challenging! Here's what I ended up with:

The panels are simply two sponged colours (Bermuda bay and crushed curry), the branch is die-cut and the bird stamped and fussy-cut. I spritzed with ink from a marker, stamped the sentiment and all done!

Materials used:

• stamps - Grace's Garden, Enjoy Life
• card - whisper white, early espresso
• other - Seasonal Layers thinlits, Big Shot, blending brushes, spritzer tool, Stamparatus, markers, craft foam, glue, water spritzer

The colours are perfect for the heatwave we're currently experiencing and I'm sending a big Hello and best wishes to all in danger from bushfires around the state and country.

Thanks so much for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Birthday Balloons

Here's another simple card that was reasonably quick to create. I made a stencil for the balloon by punching out of acetate and used my new blending brushes, stamped the sentiment over the top and voila!

Materials used:

• stamps - Stylised Birthday
• card - whisper white, basic black, lemon lime twist, acetate
• other - balloon duet punch, blending brushes, stitched rectangle dies, Big Shot, Stamparatus, craft foam

Thanks for dropping by!

Cheers

Kez

Joy to the World ... well, to Me

Sorry about the terribly narcissistic-sounding header today, but I am a very happy little Marmite because Santa came early to my craft room! My BFF and I got together for a play day yesterday and, in case we don't see each other again before Christmas, exchanged gifts, and I am sooooooo happy and grateful for the wonderful things I received - a whole feast of ink blending brushes! I was up early this morning to give them a trial run and oh my! swoon! I used them with my distress oxides - of course - and love, love, love how easy they are to use and how smoothly they blend. Thank you so much, Santa!

Here's the first card I made with them. After blending I laid a wet stencil over the top to oxidise the inks and although I think maybe I left it sitting there a titch too long, I love the 'organic feathering' effect it gave me. You get such a texture vibe, don't you?

First off I had this on a white background but when I tried it on the black, it really popped! So hopefully it's not too dark and dreary.

Materials used:

• stamps - You Matter (Simon Says Stamp)
• card - basic black, whisper white, tangerine tango
• distress oxides - picked raspberry, spiced marmalade
• other - You die (SSS), Big Shot, word window punch, white embossing powder, heat tool, Dimensionals, mounting tape, Floral Layering Stencil (Tim Holtz), water spritzer, paper towel, blending brushes, embossing buddy

Of course I couldn't stop at just one card! My second is a lot softer and more subtle (and I didn't notice the crooked bit until way too late! My bad, lol):

Materials used:

• stamps - Enjoy Life
• card - whisper white, granny apple green
• distress oxides - mowed lawn, forest moss
• other - Leafy Swirl stencil (Clarity Stamps), water spritzer, paper towel, heat tool, blending brushes, white embossing powder, embossing buddy, craft foam

I'm sure I'll be back again soon once I've done some more playing! Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Just Breathe

I was honoured recently to be picked as winner of the CAS on Friday challenge #167 - a one-layer card (this one) - and subsequently get to be guest designer for their new challenge. The theme this time around is to use black and/or white and one colour.

For my colour I picked the beautiful seaside spray - such a lovely soft warm blue.

Materials used:

• stamps - Hugs from Shelli, Colourful Seasons
• card - whisper white
• other - Dimensionals, Mini Cloud Edges stencil (MFT), sponge dauber, Stamparatus, craft foam

I am so happy with how this card turned out and must admit, the more I make clean and simple cards, the more I'm drawn to them. Something about the clean lines and simplicity of design really resonates with me, so you can probably expect to see more in the future.

Pop on over to the CAS on Friday blog and be inspired by the design team's lovely creations - and hopefully you'll get the urge to join in the challenge!

Thanks for stopping by. 

Cheers

Kez

It's Coming On Christmas

'It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees, putting up reindeer, singing songs of joy and peace.'

Good golly Miss Molly, it's only 44 days until Christmas! I hope you've started your organising - I've got my menu planned, table decorations sorted and presents underway. Phew! With some of the family overseas for the big day this year, we'll be a smaller group than usual but we'll still try to keep up with a few of our family traditions.

And also coming up soon - very soon in fact - is my last card class for 2019. Over the past few years the theme for this has been special, one-off Christmas cards - those which take a bit more fiddling and effort and are too intricate or time-consuming to make in our usual stamp-a-stack classes. We'll be doing that, but I've also snuck in another theme to add to it - cos I'm tricky that way, lol. No, you see what happened was I had to cancel my previous class in which we were going to make three fancy fold cards so I thought, hey, why not re-make those same fancy folds but in line with the festive season? Once my muse struck with ideas, I got busy crafting!

Here's the first one. I took this double z-fold using petal promenade papers:

Changed the papers, chose some stamps and got busy sponging...and ended up with this:

Materials used:

• stamps - Wonderland, Dashing Deer
• card - coastal cabana, real red, whisper white, Let It Snow DSP
• other - white embossing powder, heat tool, sponge, Stamparatus, hills & borders stencil, costal cabana marker, embossing buddy 

I love it! Hopefully my ladies will too. I'll be back over the next few days with the other fancy fold adaptations.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Faux Retirement

It's the 14th, which means it's time for another Stampers Anonymous team blog hop!

This month we're featuring retiring products and I decided to showcase a set that's a bit of an 'unsung hero' - ie the stamps we often use on our backgrounds but aren't the focal point of our cards. Such a one is Timeless Textures. This is a set that will be staying on my shelves despite passing its 'use by date'; it is just too versatile and one I reach for often to add texture and interest to my backgrounds.

For my first card I've paired it with another retiring favourite, Dragonfly Dreams, as well as retiring in colours.

Here you can see how glittery the dragonfly is

Materials used:

• stamps - Timeless Textures, Dragonfly Dreams
• inks - lemon lime twist, grey granite, berry burst, tranquil tide
• card - lemon lime twist, whisper white
• other - sponge daubers, Big Shot, clear Wink of Stella, mini dimensionals, distress tool, Detailed Dragonfly tints dies

Keeping with the retiring in colours, my second card uses some sponging and the faux tile technique to create a gorgeously rich tapestry for my focal point. 

For this technique I like to use an ultra thick embossing enamel as it gives a deep, glossy texture that looks stunning in real life. In this second photo you get a hint of its shine and depth.

Materials used:

• stamps - Timeless Textures
• card - thick whisper white, powder pink, fresh fig
• inks - powder pink, berry burst, fresh fig, Versamark
• other - 1 3/8" circle punch, post-it notes, sponges, heat tool, UTEE, white gel pen

That's all from me! Click on the links to take you forward or back and have fun checking out what others on the team have to show you. Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

Hello Beautiful

Over at the Clean and Simple on Sunday blog the challenge theme for this week is butterflies and I found myself unable to resist making a card for it. Here's my offering:

Materials used:

• stamps - Butterfly Gala (SU), Climbing Roses (SU), Leafy Vines (Hero Arts)
• card - whisper white
• distress oxide inks - squeezed lemonade, abandoned coral, cracked pistachio, peacock feathers
• other - butterfly duet punch (SU), clear Wink of Stella, mounting tape, white embossing powder, heat tool, Versamark ink, Stamparatus, blending tools

Aren't these colours gorgeous together? The butterfly is sooo shimmery too, after I slathered it with Wink of Stella! Love that stuff.

Well, thanks for calling in. Have a beautiful day.

Cheers

Kez

Waving Hello

It's time for another Stampers Anonymous team blog hop and this month we have a sketch to play with.

Here's my card:

For the background I drew some wavy lines on a sheet of acetate then cut them out to make a template, which I used with sponge daubers and pool party, coastal cabana and Bermuda bay inks. The first time I tried it I used regular sponges but wasn't happy with the result, so switched to daubers. The octopus was stamped in Pacific point then sponged randomly with gorgeous grape to add a bit of depth. Gorgeous grape was used again for the weeds on the vellum piece. The inside of the stitched frame piece is raised up with Dimensionals. The very subtle sentiment was stamped with Versamark and embossed in white. The glitter epoxy shapes which were the finishing touch are no longer sold (my bad) but they were so perfect for the card I couldn't resist using them.

Materials used:

• stamps - Sea of Textures, Itty Bitty Greetings
• card - whisper white, vellum
• inks - pool party, coastal cabana, Bermuda bay, Pacific point, gorgeous grape, Versamark
• other - acetate template, sponge daubers, white embossing powder, heat tool, washi tape, Dimensionals, mini dimensionals, Big Shot, stitched rectangle framelits, under the sea framelits, clear and glitter epoxy shapes, tweezers, Stamparatus

Now move on to see what delights the rest of the team have for you. Kristy is up next!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

 

Much Comfier

Another distress oxide card for you today, this one much more my style of blending and therefore I'm more comfortably in my zone.

Materials used:

• stamps - You Matter (Simon Says Stamps)
• card - thick whisper white, basic black
• distress oxide inks - picked raspberry, mustard seed, abandoned coral, wilted violet, peacock feathers
• other - blending tools, water spritzer, You Matter dies (SSS), Big Shot, small butterfly punch (SU retired), clear epoxy shapes, clear Wink of Stella, white baker's twine

I'm going to need a number of 'missing you' and 'thinking of you' cards in the future as both our daughters are heading overseas for work or study, the younger one in a week and the elder next month. It's an exciting time but I will miss them terribly; thank goodness for Skype and the internet. When I was doing my big 'overseas experience' it was snail mail and reverse charge phone calls home to my parents - how times have changed!

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

I'm In Distress

A friend pointed out recently - none too subtly, I might add - that it's been a while since I played with my distress oxides; all the more reprehensible since I have twelve new colours. So I remedied that situation today, trying out some colour combos from my Pinterest board.

Unfortunately this first card is one of those where a last minute smudge appeared from I know-not-where once everything else was finished. Very frustrating. My ink of choice smudged a bit too, so that's another lesson learned. However, I'm going to show it to you anyway because apart from those small faux pas, it's lovely imo. The butterflies are stamped on vellum and coloured with Stampin' Blends to match the shades beneath.

Materials used:

• stamps - Butterfly Gala
• card - very vanilla, vellum
• distress oxides - tattered rose, abandoned coral, seedless preserves
• SU inks - very vanilla, black StazOn
• other - butterfly duet punch, Stamparatus, bokeh template, sponge, clear Wink of Stella, double stitched framelits, Big Shot, blending tools, Stampin' Blends - flirty flamingo, calypso coral, rich razzleberry

My second card was inspired by an ATC box made by Anna-Karin. I have a real soft spot for this vintage/distressed look.  

Materials used:

• stamps - Leafy Vines (Hero Arts)
• card - very vanilla, cajun craze
• distress oxides - antique linen, tattered rose, Victorian velvet, barn door, fired brick
• other - Well Written framelits, Big Shot, glue pen, clear embossing powder, heat tool, blending tools, distressing tool, mounting tape

It was a lot of fun playing with my DOs, I must admit, so hopefully it won't be long before I do it again.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Stampers Anonymous November Blog Hop

Welcome to the Stampers Anonymous Team Blog Hop!

It's been an age since our last blog hop but we hope you will enjoy visiting each site to see what we've created for you. For this inaugural hop we had a sketch as our inspiration:

My three offerings not only have the sketch in common, but also all use the Buffalo Check background stamp. I've been having such fun with this amazingly versatile stamp!

First up is a soft baby card with some three-step stamping.

Materials used:

• stamps - Buffalo Check, Baby Bear
• card - soft sea foam, granny apple green, whisper white
• inks - soft sea foam, granny apple green
• other - Stamparatus, markers, ruler

Isn't that bear adorable? Makes me wish I had grand-babies to spoil!

Next is a fun little card I know one of my daughters will love to have. I angled my background and moved the sentiment panel a little to preserve the balance of the card. The coffee cup is covered with a die cut piece of acetate to give the look of those clear plastic cups they use for iced coffees, and I made my whipped cream from shimmery white embossing paste. It has tons of texture and looks amazing in real life.

Materials used:

• stamps - Buffalo Check, Coffee Cafe
• card - basic black, whisper white, daffodil delight
• inks - daffodil delight, Memento tuxedo black, crushed curry
• other - Stamparatus, shimmery white embossing paste, spatula, Coffee Cups framelits, Big Shot, Dimensionals, markers, ruler

For my third card I deconstructed the background a little, tilting again for added interest. The dog and bird were coloured with a blender pen and inks, then fussy cut and raised on my sentiment panel.

Materials used:

• stamps - Bella and Friends, Itty Bitty Greetings, Buffalo Check
• card - lemon lime twist, gorgeous grape, whisper white
• inks - lemon lime twist, Memento tuxedo black, crumb cake, daffodil delight, poppy parade, gorgeous grape
• other - circle dies, Big Shot, Stamparatus, Dimensionals, clear Wink of Stella, scissors, blender pen, gorgeous grape marker, ruler

Well, that's it from me; now click on one of the links below to be taken back or forward and see what the other ladies in the team have created for you. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

At the Crack of Dawn

Thursdays mean an early start for DD20; it takes about 2 hours for her to make the train and bus commute to uni in Sydney from the mountains, so this morning we were both up before the winter sun. As I was driving home again, I was treated to a stunningly gorgeous orange and yellow sunrise which made my fingers itch to get out my distress oxides.

My card is certainly no match for the beautiful vista that was laid before me, but I love it nonetheless.

Materials used:

• stamps - Wonderland
• card - whisper white, basic black, so saffron
• distress oxide inks - antique linen, squeezed lemonade, spiced marmalade, fired brick, black soot
• other - post it note, 32mm (1 1/4") circle punch, blending tool, mounting tape

I've kept it simple because, really, Mother Nature often needs no adornment. I hope the sunrise was as beautiful where you are. Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Say It Isn’t So

My baby is 20 today.

But I’m okay. Really. I’ll be fine. Yes, my eyes are a bit wet, but it’s just my allergies playing up. You know, as they do...in winter.

And I had NO idea what to make her for a card. None. Zilch. Zip. Nada.

I even felt some performance anxiety...I mean, she’s this intelligent, talented, amazing person, who created an animation for me for Mother’s Day. Yes, an animation. How many mums get one of those from their kids? It’s so unique and so special and how was I supposed to top that? And there’ve been so many birthdays that I’ve used all her ‘favourites’ - favourite colour, favourite things. I did get one bright idea relating to the degree she’s doing at uni, but decided to keep that for her graduation card, which I’ll need in just a few more short months...okay, deep breath...put that thought away for now...I can do it. I’m fine.

Maybe I should keep it simple, I thought. She’s a no frou-frou kinda gal. Perhaps that cute little pig saying ‘Ham it up for your birthday’? But then, she’s a vegetarian. Flowers? Nah, floral cards are not really her style. She wears a lot of black, maybe a sympathy style card for the demise of her teens? Hmm, no, I think she’s quite glad to see the back of them.

When I asked her to name three colours she likes (at the moment), she gave me grey, a pastel and a touch of gold. Then I asked for bold colours (I had Bokeh in mind), I got deep burgundy and a dark sage green. Sounds like a Christmas card, right? But I gave it a go, valiantly. And there were a few rejected half-made wannabees, I'm not going to lie. So I slept on it and found my way back to her original three colour combo, and here's what I finally ended up with:

That's her cat Missy on the outside window ledge, lol. 

Materials used:

• stamps - none
• card - smoky slate, basic grey, whisper white, vellum
• other - Celebrate You thinlits, Big Shot, sponge, balloon punch, gold sequins, mini glue dots, mounting tape, mounting strips, tweezers, glue pen

Hopefully she'll like it; she loves green and ombre, so fingers crossed. The green is new colour soft seafoam and I'm loving it already. I carried the balloon and sequins through to the inside...

We're off to lunch to celebrate (she has classes tonight, so dinner is out) and I've just finished icing the cake - more soft green here too, as it's a gluten free pistachio and lemon cake. Delish (we've had it before).

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

Edited to add: She loves the card! Yay!

Creatures of the Sky

Well hello and a happy Hump Day to you!

Much cuteness is in store for today's card starring a sweet-as-can-be dragon flying by with birthday wishes. I've loved this set from My Favourite Things for some time, so when Santa dropped it down my chimney I was very excited. Distress oxide inks for the background, naturally.

Awwww, so sweet!

My DDs are a primary school teacher and a regular babysitter, so between them they manage to use up most of the kids cards I make.

Materials used:

• stamps - MFT Magical Dragons
• card - whisper white, vellum
• other - Stamparatus, white embossing powder, heat tool, Big Shot, stitched rectangle dies, Copic markers, Stampin' Blends, distress oxide inks, blender tool, MFT Magical Dragon dies, rainbow builder thinlits, water spritzer, mounting strips, embossing buddy

Hope that DO fix will keep you going - if not, dose yourself up on chocolate and wine and I'll be back with more before you know it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez